Leaders of a local self-help group for clergy sex abuse victims
announced today that a second young man has settled his civil child
sexual abuse lawsuit against the St. Louis Catholic Archdiocese
and the controversial Father Bryan Kuchar.

Last year, Kuchar was found guilty of sodomizing a boy in 1995.
He continued to generate controversy even while behind bars after
mounting a campaign to remain a priest. Part of that effort involved
writing to former parishioners urging them to disclose any potentially
harmful or embarrassing information about one of his victims or
his family.

The amount of the agreement is apparently not being disclosed.
It is believed to be substantial.

The young victim, through SNAP, released this statement: "I
am glad to have gone through with this process, and I hope that
other victims may seek the peace that I have received from this.
I wish more headway could have been reached during negotiations
regarding accused priests wearing a Roman collar during trial proceedings,
but no arrangement could be reached regarding this matter."

"No amount of money can ever repair the damage inflicted
by Father Kuchar on this brave young man," said St. Louis SNAP
leader Barbara Dorris. "We applaud him for speaking up, seeking
justice and working to prevent future abuse by warning others about
an abusive cleric and a complicit church hierarchy."

SNAP leaders are urging others who have been molested by Kuchar
or other area clerics to contact them or law enforcement officials
or therapists.

The latest Kuchar victim, now in his early 20s, was repeatedly
sodomized by Kuchar around 1999 and 2000 when he was about 16 years
old, once during an overnight visit at the Cathedral rectory on
Lindell. He filed his civil suit in St. Louis county circuit court
in April 2004.

"Our group is not part of the settlement process. That's between
the victims who have taken legal action and their attorneys,"
said Dorris. "But we certainly believe this situation shows
that when victims come forward and turn to the time-tested American
justice system, sometimes some closure and healing can result."

The young man was represented by Patrick Noaker of St. Paul and
Susan Carlson of University City, attorneys who are handling the
vast majority of clergy sex abuse lawsuits involving St. Louis area
priests.

Kuchar faced two criminal trials. The first (in May 2003) ended
in a hung jury, after Kuchar claimed his taped confession to police
was coerced. The second (in August 2003) ended in a unanimous guilty
verdict. Kuchar was sentenced to three years in the St. Louis County
Jail. He was originally arrested on April 10, 2002. A judge sentenced
the priest to three years in St. Louis County jail.

"Because of this lenient sentence, Kuchar will soon be free,"
said David Clohessy of SNAP. "So it's crucial that anyone who
experienced, witnessed or suspected abuse by Kuchar come forward
and call the police."

Kuchar is still a young man, he noted, and expresses no remorse
for his crimes, so must still be considered a threat.

Another civil lawsuit against Kuchar was settled in August of this
year. It involved the young man whose police report and trial testimony
resulted in Kuchar's conviction. He was assaulted while attending
Assumption parish in South County.

"We are convinced others current and former Catholic
employees are still staying silent, enabling Kuchar to avoid prosecution
on other crimes," Clohessy said. "And
because he molested kids so recently, and it's
harder for young people to understand they've
been hurt and to call the police, we believe others Kuchar wounded
are still struggling in shame, self-blame and isolation."

Kuchar's case has been particularly troubling
to some Catholics and to SNAP for other reasons:

- Despite repeated requests, no archdiocesan official tried to
stop or criticize Kuchar's efforts to discover
and use negative information about his victims in his campaign to
remain a priest.

- Two full weeks after Kuchar's conviction, Msgr.
Richard Stika (the Archbishop Justin Rigali's
"right hand man") continued
to express doubts about Kuchar's guilt, to the
chagrin of clergy sex abuse victims and many Catholics. On KMOV
TV, Mike O'Connell reported on 9/11/03 that despite"Kuchar's
taped confession to police and two separate admissions Kuchar made
to a nun and a fellow priest, Stika still thinks Kuchar could be
innocent, citing the priests claim at trial that he'd been coerced
into confessing by police."

- Throughout the trial, and even after being found guilty, Kuchar
wore his Roman collar in the courtroom, in violation of the US bishops
sex abuse policy, SNAP believes.

- A nun, a priest and a Catholic employee who knew about or strongly
suspected Kuchar's guilt remained silent for months
as the first criminal trial approached. They testified in Kuchar's
second trial, but only after Kuchar's first trial
ended in a hung jury and after the three were directly contacted
by the prosecutor's office. SNAP repeatedly urges
anyone with knowledge or suspicions about abusive clergy to contact
law enforcement.

- Despite claims by the archdiocese that they have long had a rigorous
screening process for priesthood candidates, 40% of the men in Kuchar's
ordination class (two of five) are now serving time in prison for
child sexual abuse.

In addition to working at these two parishes (Assumption and the
Cathedral), Kuchar was also at two high schools - Rosati-Kain High
School in the Central Wet End and St. John the Baptist High School
in the city's Bevo neighborhood. He was also the associate director
of the archdiocese's Vocations Office and had an office at Kenrick-Glennon
Seminary.